For Everybody: The Mission Behind Mid-Delta Health Systems, Inc.
- Katrina Dupins
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
Care Close to Home: The Story Behind Mid-Delta Health Systems
For nearly 40 years, Mid-Delta Health Systems has been delivering quality, affordable healthcare to the heart of the Arkansas Delta. Based in the Monroe County city of Clarendon, Mid-Delta also has clinics in DeWitt and Stuttgart as well as a school-based location: Lion’s Clinic in Clarendon.
Clinicians, staff members and the board are all committed to making patient care the top priority at Mid-Delta Health Systems. But awareness remains a challenge. There are still so many who don’t know about the clinic and who it serves. CEO Monica Lindley is clear: "A community health center is a clinic. It's not for any special population. It's for everybody."
More Than a Doctor's Visit
For many patients, Mid-Delta is far more than a place to treat an illness. Staff members work alongside patients to help them navigate the systems that determine whether they can afford care. Susan Caplener, Outreach and Patient Services Coordinator, helps enroll people who qualify in Medicaid or connect them to Medicare benefits or link them to resources like food, housing, and other basic necessities.
"There are a lot of people that don't even know they might qualify for insurance," Caplener said.
"When people leave my office and they actually are happy, and they came in not happy. To see them leave and say, 'Oh my gosh, thank you so much, I wouldn't have known about this program.' That's a great thing."
Dental Services
One of Mid-Delta's notable offerings is its dental clinic. Dr. James L. Fish, the clinic's sole dentist, says some patients drive from as far as 70 miles away to see him. Dr. Fish wants the community to understand something often overlooked: dental health isn't separate from your overall health.
"If you don't get your teeth cleaned and your gums are infected, that can get in your bloodstream, which can then cause a stroke, a heart attack,” he said. “Dental health is a part of whole health.”
That's why Mid-Delta takes dental education into local Head Start programs and elementary schools, handing out toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss to build healthy habits early.
The Same Mission, Decades Later
Sitting on the desk in Lindley’s office is a framed document from the clinic’s earliest days. It’s a typewritten paper Lindley found years ago that reads in part, “The patient is the most important person in the organization. The patient is not an interruption of our work. He's the purpose of it.”
"It doesn't matter what decade that was typed in," Lindley said. "It still applies today."
Mid-Delta keeps going back to the drawing board, asking the same questions it always has. Are we doing the best thing for the community? Are we taking care of our patients? Are we taking care of our people?
Nearly four decades in, the answer is still yes.
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